Siarhei Alfer: Changes will make it possible to enliven Belarusan election campaign

Possible changes in Belarusan Electoral Code may bring the election legislation to greater conformity with the principle of holding election in democratic countries.

 This opinion was expressed to the EuroBelarus Information Service by an expert in election law Siarhei Alfer.

Let us recall that Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and Republican Referenda started to draft a bill on amendments and additions to the Electoral Code.

Among the innovations is the creation of territorial election commissions which will serve as an intermediate link between the Central Commission and the district ones when considering complaints.

Siarhei Alfer encourages such approach: «In Belarus there must be full time regional commissions and Minsk city election commissions which can work professionally to prepare the election commissions and train people who will be involved in their work. It is a serious activity. Such territorial election commissions exist, for example, in our neighboring countries – in Russia and Poland.”

The Central Election Commission wants to extend the court powers in the election sphere.  Now everything is concentrated in Supreme Court, while the Central Election Commission suggests allocating power between regional courts and Minsk city court.  According to Lidziya Yarmoshyna this will speed up and draw the grievances procedure nearer to the complainants.

Actually only complaints related to non-registration of this or that candidate’s initiative group stops at Supreme Court, Siarhei Alfer points out. He agrees on the fact that if all the election disputes are considered both administratively by a superior body and at court at the wish of the opposing parties, it will be a step forward according to the existing rules of Electoral Code. “If a parliamentary candidate is able to make a complaint not in Supreme Court, but in the regional court at the place of the constituency, it will not play a crucial role. Except for the candidate will spend less time because there is no need to go to Minsk. And generally this change is not crucial at all from my point of view,”- the expert assumes.

Lidzija Jarmoshyna sees the necessity to make provision for institute of a judge of election committee with option of consultative vote, foremost for constituency election commission.

- As we can see, Lidzija Jarmoshyna sometimes reads the documents provided by the opposition and international structures.  And it is said there that commissions should have as much pluralistic structure as possible. If political parties which participate in elections will have representation in election committees and will be entitled to work in a commission with an option of consultative vote – it means greater openness and publicity in holding of election, and this is good,- Siarhei Alfer explains.

He also adds that this regulation should be expanded not only on the Central Commission, but also on the district, territorial and precinct ones.

Regulations which give more financial freedom to the electioneerers may also be included into the draft. Particularly, it is planned to remove restrictions on the amount of money which the candidates may deposit in their electoral fund.

Siarhei Alfer positively evaluates the steps that encourage the formation of the personal electoral funds of the candidates, because the government is unable to finance their election campaigns to the full extent: “The financial resources which are allocated by the government for this purpose are so insignificant that can cover only small part of the expenses. This is one of the reasons why voters do not know anything about their candidates. If parliamentary candidates of all levels raise enough money, this will give a chance for more interesting, real and not an abridged election campaign”.

According to the expert, at the same time, however, there is a need for changes in law enforcement practice. He reminded that during 2010 presidential election campaign “Autoradio” was closed down only because Sannikau’s election promos were aired. This year printing-offices refused to print electoral materials of the candidates justifying it with the fact that the acting government may not be satisfied with its content. “If such practice, which does not comply with the requirements of the Constitution, changes, the importance of electoral funds will increase,” - Siarhei Alfer believes.  

At the same time the transition of the pre-election expenses payment to private hands should not lead to the candidate’s dependence on his funders and all the more to the attraction of foreign capital to the campaign finance, Lidzija Jarmoshyna outlined.

According to Siarhei Alfer, most of the countries prohibit financing of the election campaign by means of foreign companies. But any act is possible to take into account candidates’ dependence on their funders. And this question is not so much of legal as of moral nature: “When a private person or Belarusan company finances the election campaign, they want this particular candidate to promote their interests to some extent.  Later on specific interests of the people financing the campaign will be lobbied (which is illegal), or the deputy will be lobbying not specific interests of the concrete people, but the trend in general, for example, the liberalization of economic system etc., which is quite legal and may be convenient for the funder”.

But such draft amendment as entitlement to nominate a parliamentary candidate for the republican public associations with more than one hundred members is what Siarhei Alfer called a return to the Soviet past.

In due time lawmaker declined to give public associations (except political parties) the right to set up a candidate, and this was the right decision. The Constitution makes provision for public association to run a candidate, but this right is established by law. And the law has determined only one type of public associations which can run a candidate – political parties.

- Political parties are formed for implementation of their statutory purposes, for their realization through the electoral participation, while public associations should not be engaged in political activity because they are simply defined as such. This return to the old Soviet practice would be a step back in electoral legislation, - the expert assumes.